A lot of questions

Hi guys, we've had princess for a week now and have a lot of questions. I'll start with her diet. She LOVES her pellet meals and often ignores her hay unless she thinks she won't be getting pellets for a while. We gave her unlimited pellets almost right out of the gate, all of which she ate and promptly checked into her hay best for a few hours of soft pooping and probably stomachache. Should we have set pellet meal times for her? Will this keep her from over eating? (It's definitely not interfering with her growth, she's bigger every day). Next, we're having some issues with play time. She lives in a very large cage with a few play things and a litter box to which she is completely trained (we take every victory we can get). We have been trying to let her out and into a large X-pen at different times of the day a few times each day to find what time is best for her. So far, she's been less than cooperative. It takes us a few minutes to get her out; she's not scared, just slow to get interested. Once she comes out, she shows some interest in a cardboard tunnel I made, but ignores everything else and seems to simply want to explore. We use the cage as one wall of the pen and she consistently finds her way back into the cage in a very risky way, knocks all of her things over and makes a general mess of it, eats, and goes to sleep. I think she simply needs better toys to keep her busy. Please let me know what I can do to have her enjoy play time with us. We're sort of considering a second bunny but aren't too sure yet. Some info on that? Are we just not giving her enough time to adjust? All that said, we love her very much and are trying very hard but a little help on making this less difficult for all involved would be much appreciated!!

hay needs to make up more of her diet than pellets, we give a small handful of pellets in the morning [between two bunnies] and hay the rest of the time. How old is she? younger bunnies may need more pellets like this but again she should have more hay than pellets.

Re playtime, can you not just open her indoor cage and let her come out as and when she wants too, might be she isnt used to be being handled by people. We normally let ours come out and have a nosey as and when they feel like it. Rabbits are like that with toys, exploring is normally the norm when they are in a new area. Toys ours like are cardboard like the cardboard castle and tunnels. they also love egg boxes filled with treats so they have to break into them. They also love willow to nibble on. On the mess front, bunnies are like that  

If you decide on another bunny its worth having her spayed first and giving her time to let her hormones die down before adding another bun as this makes it much easier and there is no chance of unwanted litters and it reduces the chance of cancer later in life.


Also .... we need some pictures   

Amelia has made some good points. Bunnies are naturally curious, so I would let her come out when she wants to. And yes she will probably spend more time investigating and scent marking rather than playing with toys. Don's forget that bunny investigation is a form of play! All my buns love to sit in things and on things so cardboard boxes with more than one entrance are always a hit, as are tunnels.

What brand of pellets are you feeding?

And as for another bun - seeing two buns interact is wonderful so I would certainly consider a partner. Even if you decide not to I would certainly recommend spaying your little girl. Where do you live - we may be able to recommend a bunny savvy vet - some vets are a lot more experienced in rabbit treatment than others.

Proper bunny diet for your new bunny is determined by age.  Rabbits of all ages need unlimited hay. Young bunnies need alfalfa hay because of the high calcium content which is necessary for strong bones. Mature rabbits need Timothy or other lower calcium content hays so they don't form kidney stones.

A high quality, high fiber pellet is necessary. A minimum of 22% fiber. Alfalfa pellets for baby buns and Timothy hay based ones for adult buns.

House Rabbit Society suggests:

What quantities of food should I feed babies and “teenagers”?
Birth to 3 weeks–mother’s milk
3 to 4 weeks–mother’s milk, nibbles of alfalfa and pellets
4 to 7 weeks–mother’s milk, access to alfalfa and pellets

7 weeks to 7 months–unlimited pellets, unlimited hay (plus see 12 weeks below)
12 weeks–introduce vegetables (one at a time, quantities under 1/2 oz.)

What quantities of food should I feed young adults? (7 months to 1 year)
introduce timothy hay, grass hay, oat hay, and other hays; decrease alfalfa
decrease pellets to 1/2 cup per 6 lbs. body weight
increase daily vegetables gradually; make sure your rabbit can tolerate
fruit daily ration no more than 1 oz. to 2 oz. per 6 lbs. body weight (because of calories)

What quantities of food should I feed mature adults? (1 to 5 years)
Unlimited timothy, grass hay, oat hay, other hays including brome, Bermuda, etc.
1/4 to 1/2 cup pellets per 6 lbs. body weight (depending on metabolism and/or proportionate to veggies)
Minimum 2 cups chopped vegetables per 6 lbs. body weight; always introduce vegetables and greens slowly to make sure your rabbit can tolerate
fruit daily ration no more than 2 oz. (2 TBL) per 6 lbs. body weight.

What quantities of food should I feed senior rabbits? (Over 6 years)
If sufficient weight is maintained, continue adult diet
Frail, older rabbits may need unrestricted pellets to keep weight up. Alfalfa can be given to underweight rabbits, only if calcium levels are normal. Annual blood workups are highly recommended for geriatric rabbits.

All feeding advice is given. They love to nose and find out, so let her explore in her own time scale if possible. She certainly will need more time to settle and accept her new home. It differs like their personality. Bubbles took four month!
Pictures would be great.

There is a lot of conflicting advice on diet for young buns. My understanding is that the advice that Holly has given (according to the British sources) was based on rabbits who are farmed for meat. In the wild buns would get the same forage as the adults. So to my mind there is no need to feed a young rabbit differently but you can feed junior food if you wish. So I would feed a handful of pellets once a day and as much hay as the bun can eat. Slowly introduce veg and herbs in small amounts one at a time. I fed Flo this way from weaning and she is now 7, a healthy weight and has never had any digestive complaints or dental issues. Some people like to split the pellets into two feeds.

Re. playtime, I agree just open the cage and let her get on with it. You can't hurry a rabbit into enjoying things - they are quite obstinate like that. As for toys, there is no guessing what toys a rabbit is going to enjoy. My pair like carboard boxes, teaching quilts/blankets a lesson, digging and winding each other up. Some buns like to throw things (toilet and kitchen roll innards are good for this). What you can almost guarantee is that if you spend a lot of money on it they won't pay it any attention.

Two rabbits are definitely better than one. But before introductions both rabbits MUST be neutered regardless of sex. The proven most reliable pairings for long term happiness is one male one female. They must be on neutral territory for bonding. The most straight forward way to find the appropriate partner for your rabbit is to take her dating at a local rescue. Don't have preconceptions about what you think is the right partner for her, she will let you know what she likes and what she doesn't.